Dr. Pablo Mukherjee (University of Warwick, Associate Professor in Dept. of English and Comparative Literary Studies)
Classical theories of modernism, whether architectural, industrial,
aesthetic or political, put a certain emphasis on planning as a way of
ameliorating disorder and violence that were seen to be inherent in social
life. But what if planning produces and distributes violence rather than
eliminating it? This talk considers the relationship between planning,
violence and literature in the contexts of colonialism and post-colonialism in
the case of the iconic site of modernity -- the colonial city.
Upamanyu looks at the continuing legacy of this planned violence in the
postcolonial world of south Asia by looking at two examples of contemporary
Indian novels, Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger (2008) and Ruchir Joshi’s The
Last Jet-Engine Laugh (2001), and exploring how literary narratives offer
crucial critical, reflective and affective modes of intervention in our
understanding of the relationship between planning, order and violence.
Upamanyu Pablo Mukherjee is a Reader (Associate Professor) at the Department of
English and Comparative Studies, Warwick University, U.K. He teaches and
researches in the areas of British imperial literatures and cultures,
postcolonial literary and cultural theories, environmental studies, urban
studies and world and comparative literary theories.
Open to all. No registration required.
Part of the Taking Place seminar series.For more information about the group, please visit the link on the right hand side of this page.